Heed My Call PV Scarlet Closed

A new year meant trying out some new habits for Scarlet, those of which she liked she might actually try keep. Sparked by some new friendships formed over summer and the first few weeks of term, Scarlet thought she would try out the Quidditch Pitch as a possible study spot, a couple of her friends were in their houses team, or were at least interested in playing the sport. She thought it would be a nice place to get some reading done if she were to accompany them to practise - that was if she wasn't too interested in what was going on within the pitch.

The skies promised a warm or at least clear day this morning, so she had headed out into the grounds when she got the chance, taking with her fictional book in her bag along with a couple of pieces of fruit and some water. Since the summer camp of that year, when another campmate had recommended she branch out to muggle fiction, Scarlet had been keen to explore this untapped wealth of literature. She had with her today, 'Treasure Island,' she had owled her mother within the first few days of term asking her to send her some kind of adventure book, and received the parcel during breakfast a few days later, along with a note saying it had been recommended by a muggle bookseller.

She was only a few chapters in before the sky quickly grew darker and more menacing in appearance, and then the rain began, changing almost immediately from a light drizzle to a heavy downpour. Scarlet quickly put her book back into her bag and proceeded to lightly jog back towards the castle.

She wasn't the only one, the rain had clearly taken many others by surprise as she noticed a quite a few other students running to get themselves in from the rain. By the time Scarlet was at a point where the distance to the castle was less than that back to the pitch, the heavy rain had developed into a storm, the frequent crashing of thunder separated only by the white flash of lightening.

“Flutters!” Scarlet heard the shout coming from a cluster of two or three trees nearby, the voice was panicked, and sounded desperate. She followed the sound to another student stood under one of the trees, sheltering from the heavy rain. Scarlet recognised her from summer camp, she had been in her truth or dare group, Scarlet remembered as she had dared the girl to flop on the ground like a fish, it had been quite funny to watch.

”What’s wrong?!” Scarlet asked the girl as she ran under the coverage the tree provided, ”have you not noticed the storm!” she said jokingly before quickly re-evaluating the mood and, seeing the worried look on the girl’s face, asking, ”are you okay?”

@Elena Jangleton

There had never been an instance in which her owl had never answered her calls. Heck, when the Gryffindor train carriage had de-railed last year and despite being injured, the owl had mustured up enough courage to reply to her. It was this eerie silence that was scary and it didn't help the heavy rain was making things all the more diffcult. "Where could have you gone?" She muttered miserably as a few fat raindrops smacked her in the face, her eyes searching the darkening skies for anything, a speck even but all that they delivered was big, ominous, thunderclouds that showed no intention of stopping anytime soon. Why was it that bad things always happened on rainy days? The brunette faintly recalled when she had been stressing over her bird's health last time, she had been under a tree in this exact sort of weather, it was like the skies were playing some sort of cruel joke on her.

Another voice rang out as her head jerked up towards the new individual surprised the girl wasn't running inside with the others to stay dry. Realization dawned on her face when she acknowledged the new person, it was that girl from truth or dare, it hadn't been terribly long since then but now was hardly the time to discuss pleasantries. Yes, Elena had noticed the storm and she could hardly care if it was a blizzard or searing hot, the Gryffindor would not be returning to the castle without her feathery companion. "Flutters.." She repeated miserably turning to the other girl before pointing off in the directon of a armada of trees, all which were swaying this way and that as the high winds battered the castle. "My barn owl, I brought him out here just to let him fly around a bit and..and.." Her words were cut off as a few worried tears slid down her cheeks as she paused to gather herself pulling herself together but only just barely, "He hasn't come back since, I'm scared the storm got to him or something."

Her bird while certainly courageous did not do well in storms. He had probably witnessed the oncoming thunderclouds and panicked. An crackling sound as a flash of lightning perhaps too close for comfort illuminated the area ahead of them for a brief second. "I..I.." She stuffed her hands in her robes wondering how on Merlin she was going find a single bird in all of this. Still, she refused to go back inside knowing Flutters was out there braving this storm as best as he could. That just didn't sit right with her. "I've been calling him for a while now and there's no response which is scaring me. I don't wanna think the worst but what if he.." Elena refused to finish that sentence not even wnating to know what potential outcomes there could have been. He had to be out there, he had to, it was just a matter of finding him which was proving to be quite the big task ahead of them as she inhaled a shuddering breath.

Scarlet considered different reasons as to why someone would still be stood out in a storm like this, she couldn't come up with anything, not anything sane at least. There were no other people around apart from those in the distance heading to the castle, but her gaze wasn't fixed on them anyway, like the girl, Scarlet too started starring into the sky, looking out for anything that would explain what the girl was doing.

"Flutters..." the girl started before trailing off, she then pointed towards a cluster of trees, Scarlet squinting her eyes still noticed nothing out of the usual about them. 'Of course!' she thought on hearing the girl talk of the missing barn owl, the name, looking to the sky, it all made sense now.

The storm was a bit wild, and had picked up so quickly, it was no surprise that any animal would get caught up in it. The girl was clearly quite upset and worried about it, evident by the tear running down her cheek as she spoke, "it's Elena right?" she said after racking her brain for the girl's name from the camp.

Scarlet didn't know how quite to comfort the girl, she didn't really have any experience with this sort of thing, at least not with someone she didn't really know, so she approached the situation in the best way she knew she could, with a plan, something that if her own pet was missing she would be happy to hear.

"Is there a chance he might have gone to the owlery?" Scarlet asked in response to Elena's expressed concern, "or would he not do something like that?" hopefully there was the chance that the bird had simple sought shelter somewhere rather than remain flying in the stormy weather. "In any case, we're out here now, and I understand it's something you can't just go inside and forget about," Scarlet knew there would be no solution to the problem that didn't involve looking for the owl.

She looked back towards the trees that Elena had been pointing at earlier, "do you want to start by checking there?" Scarlet asked as she took a few steps in their direction, "and his name is 'Flutters' right?" she asked, double-checking, "we're going to find him, you've got two people looking now," she said, giving the girl a gentle smile.

@Elena Jangleton

She nodded in response to her own name flinching as a bolt of lightining struck the ground sending chills through her body. It wasn't normal, not normal of her owl to simply ignore her calls, he was well-trained and better than that, he did not require correction or discipline so maybe that was why the brunette felt like something had seriously gone wrong. He could be out there slowly fading away from this earth while they wasted time like this time discussing possibilites. "He wouldn't go to the owlery on his own, I always take him up there when I'm done." She had been the one to take him out and always the one to return him. It was the way it had been and the way it would always be, they had never broken that routine for the time that she had been in this castle.

Most people would probably not exactly fancy risking life and limb for a creature that was not theirs and while Elena could understand the sentiment, it was a cruel one but it appeared that Scartlet was not like most people as a glimmer of hope crossed her tear-stricken expression. "You'll help me look?" She needed to hear it again just to make sure she had really heard it because if Elena knew one thing, these were the types of people you needed to keep close. It was thundering and raining like the sky had broken open yet Scarlet was willing to risk all that for her, for a bird and that in itself spoke volumes, the Gryffindor thought to herself. Her owl would be alright, they were looking, they would be there, all she had to was keep praying was that nothing bad had happened to him.

Wiping a tear from her cheeks, she gestured towards where Scarlet had indicated, the search adventure she had been planning to undertake all by herself. "Yeah, but we should be careful. I already saw a tree topple over." There would be no helping Flutters if they got hurt themselves and as the thunderstorm raged on, she swore the raindrops only got heavier and harder but still, the Gryffindor insisted. She was going to be returning to that castle with her owl and if that meant staying out in this for hours on end than so be it. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she would call his name once again hoping to hear something, anything. Nothing, a silence that chilled her to her bone as she glanced at Scarlet before gathering whatever energy she had left. Right, don't think the worst. They were going to find him and that was that, no other option was acceptable. "I'll lead the way then." Elena's voice came out, a bit shaky if anything fearing what she might find as she took a few unsteady steps at first hesitating at first in the face of the weather but summoning all of her courage, began to stride forward towards the clump of trees, all of which were swaying dangerously as if they might just fall over any second. It was a risk that in her opinion, it was worth taking.

The storm showed no sign of letting down, if anything it felt as though it might only be getting worse, Scarlet pulled aside the wet strands of her hair that had blown into her eyes following as a result of the strong winds. Winds that also worked to push ice cold pellets of rain into her face, it was less than ideal conditions to be looking for a missing bird.

"Really?! That sounds like a super smart bird," she said trying to reassure Elena that the owl would be able to look after himself until the two found them, hearing about the connection Elena clearly had with her owl made Scarlet want to help even more.

"Of course!" Scarlet said whilst nodding her head, she could see why Elena might not have been expecting her offer of help, but really, Scarlet would have extended her offer to anyone, regardless of if she knew them. She didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day, so she would likely just be going back and sitting in her common room anyway.

Scarlet didn't like the sound of the toppling trees, she had actually seen one fall before, living next to a forest she was surprised she hadn't seen more, but she knew there was that cracking noise that could be heard before it fell. The continuing loud rumbling of thunder made her doubt that any warning noise from a falling tree would be heard over the storm.

"Okay, let's go," she said to Elena, "we can keep an eye out for any trees that look suspiciously unstable," she figured that storm or not, a tree couldn't fall instantly so they would have the time to move out of the way of any trees that looked to be swaying too violently. "Flutters!!" Scarlet called out as the pair were walking, with the dark clouds above and the countless places a bird could hide in the ground, they had no way of telling where the owl was, and if he happened to still be flying about, they needed to continue calling out for him in the hope that he hears.

@Elena Jangleton

Elena couldn't help the small shaky smile that broke on her face as the other girl complimented her bird. Flutters was smart or at least according to her, he just got a bit carried away sometimes and that in some cases could be his undoing. That was all it was, the brunette kept telling herself that maybe the bird had just gotten too eager about his hunting trips and probably off seeking shelter like any normal animal. That was the outcome Elena wanted but as the Gryffindor knew all too well about this school, it was better to be prepared for the worst outcome if needed though she wasn't quite sure she was ready to face that reality if it was even true. "It's my fault. I knew the storm was coming but I didn't expect it to be here so soon." The brunette said miserable as they tromped onwards, eyes flicking this way and that looking for anything that looked even slightly out of place.

Truth was, there were a lot of things that looked out of place thanks to the storm. Some broken tree branches, the wet ground and Merlin knew what else, it looked like an army had swept through this place as thunder boomed above them with no sign of the downpour stopping anytime soon. "It was right about here I saw him last before he just vanished." She came to a stop at one point scanning the terrain as if a clue or something would appear in front of them Scarlet's calls were going unanswered though that could be for two reasons, one being the storm drowned out their voices or the second being that perhaps the owl was not familiar with this new voice calling his name but so far, no response had been heard. "Flutters! It's me, you can come out now!" Nothing, not a hoot and with every passing second, her desperation grew.

The onslaught of the rain had made the ground rough and diffcult to navigate, slippery even as a low-hanging branch brushed against Elena's cheek as she pressed forward leaving a small scratch but aside from that, the girl was far too worried about the pressing matter at hand to pay attention to anything else. She was on the verge of turning back, maybe just waiting it out until the weather had cleared but her heart would not allow it. No, that wasn't how things were done as she brushed a few leaves off her shoulder. Her head followed their descent to the ground only to find that that they were not leaves but brown owl feathers and as far as the girl was concerned, there was only one owl to boot who was flitting about in this weather. "These are his!" She exclaimed eagerly holding up one for her and Scarlet to examine before tucking it in her pocket. He had to be close or at least nearby as her pace quickened nearly stumbling over a log. They had to be getting close.

"It can't be far now."

He had been here recently, maybe a minute or so ago but then, why was he not responding to their calls? Was he hurt? Elena didn't event want to begin to think of that possibility gritting her teeth wiping some of the droplets off her forehead as she led the way.

Scarlet was determined to remain optimistic, the two had started looking only a few minutes after the storm had started, it's not like the bird had been missing for hours, she hoped that meant it would be okay still, and owls were smart of course, Scarlet thought he would try to keep out of danger.

"No, it's not your fault!" Scarlet said quickly, "I don't think anyone expected the storm now, and definitely not to this extent," she said, truly believing this was all a case of really bad luck.

As Scarlet looked around where the two were walking, mainly up towards the sky where she would most expect to see Flutters, she looked back in the direction of the castle. The stream of students that were once piling into the building was gone, not that she expected anyone else to be lingering about in the rain. In the rush to get in from the rain herself, Scarlet didn't think she would have noticed Elena if she hadn't heard her first.

Scarlet came to a stop next to Elena, "Flutters!" she called out, her eyes moving between the fallen debris, nearby trees and dark sky. "What does he look like?" Scarlet asked, realising she wasn't exactly sure how she would pick out a barn owl from others, though she doubted there would be a great number of any type of owl still out in the storm.

Scarlet came to a stop beside Elena, and watched as she picked up a few feathers from the ground, she accepted one of the feathers, giving it a closer look. As far as Scarlet could tell, it was an owl feather, it looked enough like one, "this is good," she said, considering the positive meaning of their findings, "it means he's still flying about somewhere, and the feathers are almost completely dry so it can't be long since he lost them."

As soon as Scarlet had handed the feather back to Elena, the girl snapped her attention back on the trail of the bird, almost tripping over a fallen log in her hurry, Scarlet instinctively extended an arm in case the girl was about to fall, but she caught herself just in time.

"There," Scarlet said pointing to another group of trees in another direction, "I just saw a crow or something fly into one of those trees, maybe Flutters could be in there too," she said, suggesting the two head there next.

@Elena Jangleton

They were on the right track, that much was certain and as far as the brunette knew, Flutters was the only owl crazy enough to be out flying around in this. Well, it wasn't his fault really as she'd been the one to let him out in the first place as she nodded in response wondering how best to describe him. How did you tell a barn owl apart from normal ones, was it their color? Their personalitry, she paused to dwell on that before mustering up what she thought was an acceptable explanation. "Uh, dark brown, black eyes with really fluffy feathers, looks just like your average owl really." That in itself was a problem too because against the dark stormy sky, it would be virtually impossible to make him and that only added to her stress and worry as she silently swore a promise to herself never to do anything as stupid as this ever again.

The feather was a good sign as Scarlet indicated another clump of trees that had more aerial activity in the form of crows and that was more promsing than owl feathers for sure. "He's gotten lost before but never like this. He usually comes back within a minute or two." She admitted running a hand through her hair to shake out some of the moisture as the storm kept up it's relentless assualt, it's like the sky was scolding them for being out in this horrendous climate but Elena Jangleton had seen far more horrendous things and she was not about to be deterred by some silly thunderstorm. Besides, the chances of her getting struck by lightning was slimmer than stumbling upon Flutters so she took comfort in that fact. There was also the possibilty he had gotten lost and flown off miles away but somehow, it just didn't seem likely that he would do that.

"I'm sorry, y'know. You're all wet and muddy because of all this, I owe you one." The soft grass beneath their feet had not been kind either with the water sloshing over them as they navigated the terrian avoiding a puddle here and there. It didn't long before they found themselves surrounded by another clump of trees and this one looked or rather sounded more promising given the fact that the crows or whatever types of birds these were seemed to cawing and chirping circling an area. "What'd you think they're looking at?" She mused before a sudden realization hit her, a dreadful one. Crows were scavengers, they thrived on the remains of whatever was before them and maybe this realization was understood as a panicked look crossed her face. "You don't think they've found..?" She didn't think she needed to finish that sentence quickening her pace to follow the birds to where they were circling.

"Flutters! I'm here!"

He wasn't, he couldn't be, that bird had survived a train wreck for Merlin's sake so she refused to believe a flock of crows could have gotten the better of him.

Sure Scarlet knew what an owl looked like, there was of course Evie back at home, her family's own owl, and now that she thought about it, she realised her question about the owl's appearance was probably a tad unnecessary. She didn't suppose they would come across that many other owls either, so didn't imagine she would even need to know how to pick out Flutters from a group.

"Yeah, should have figured as much," she replied, "we have a tawny owl at home, she's called Evie," Scarlet began, "it must be so cool to have your own owl though, and have it at Hogwarts, I'm really hoping to get a pet this year, I don't know what I would choose to have though." Scarlet remembered back to the start of her first year at the school, she had for some reason convinced herself that it would make Evie, and her mother's cat Ashur, feel left out if she were to get a pet of her own. Of course it didn't take her long to realise that she was should have gotten a pet then.

"Well, this isn't exactly a normal situation, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to try navigate the skies in this kind of weather," she said to Elena, "but I mean animals aren't like us, they have animal instincts and better sight and everything, it's in their nature to know what to do in scenarios like this." Without any kind of sight of the owl so far, she knew it must be difficult for Elena to have faith that the pair would find him, so Scarlet knew she had to try keep up her hopes.

"Hey, it's not like you made me do anything, I wanted to help, don't worry, I'll think of something you can do to help me out," she joked, letting out a small laugh. She hadn't really paid much attention to it till now, but Elena was right, looking down at her feet she saw a thick layer of mud caked her shoes, 'nice,' she thought sarcastically.

"Hopefully that's them reacting to Flutters, who knows, maybe he settled down near one of their nests if he landed in a tree to take shelter," she suggested, thinking there was probably a good chance that this was the case. Birds in a storm didn't just caw at everything, from what she knew they just bunkered down and waited it out, so there must be something disturbing them.

"No!" she said quickly, "definitely not, I bet Flutters is getting them all annoyed, bet he's found a nice comfortable spot in the middle of their nest or something," she said, steering Elena as far away from the ideas she assumed she was having. "Come on lets go and rescue him from all those crows," she said as she encouraged the girl to continue on to where the birds were circling.

@Elena Jangleton

Soooo sorry this is late!! Been a busy past month